- Eswatini: Two US regime personnel accidentally shot by soldiers
Source: KOCO 5 News
“Soldiers in the African nation of Eswatini accidentally shot two U.S. government personnel last week, the country’s government said. The U.S. personnel were shot during an anti-smuggling operation by the Eswatini army in a rural region in the northeast of the country late Friday, Eswatini’s government said in a statement late Monday. The Americans sustained ‘minor injuries’ and there was an investigation underway, Eswatini government spokesperson Thabile Mdluli told The Associated Press on Tuesday. The Eswatini government didn’t immediately identify the U.S. personnel or say why they were present.” (09/15/26)
https://www.koco.com/article/eswatini-army-shoots-us-personnel-investigation/73740168
- US regime confirms for first time it has weapons deployed in space
Source: CNBC
“The U.S. said for the first time Monday that the Space Force has deployed weapons in orbit. U.S. Air Force Secretary Troy Meink told the Air and Space Cyber Conference that the U.S. has ‘on-orbit space control weapons,’ as he outlined a broader push to modernize the Air Force and Space Force in response to advances by U.S. adversaries, AI, and the growing use of autonomous weapons. He did not specify what kind of weapons in space had been deployed, or when, according to the official Air Force account. … His comments came as governments are reassessing what weapons and defense systems they’ll need to defend themselves against an increased threat from hybrid attacks.” (09/15/26)
https://www.cnbc.com/2026/09/15/weapons-in-space-us-air-force-meink.html
- UN Rights Chief Says Uncovered Remains in Gaza Raise Concerns of War Crimes
Source: US News & World Report
“The recovery of hundreds of bodies from the rubble of buildings destroyed by Israeli strikes in Gaza during the war that began nearly three years ago has raised fresh concerns about possible war crimes, the U.N. human rights chief said on Tuesday. Volker Turk said the remains of what appeared to be entire families were being unearthed from sites destroyed during Israeli attacks, adding that many victims were women and children. … The Israeli Prime Minister’s office and Foreign Ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Israel has repeatedly rejected allegations that it deliberately targets civilians and says it acted in accordance with international law while fighting Hamas militants in Gaza.” (09/15/26)
- Trump whines about his SCOTUS appointees after justices block postal election-rigging scheme
Source: Washington Post
“President Donald Trump on Tuesday blasted the Supreme Court justices he appointed after they ruled against him on mail ballots, tariffs and birthright citizenship, portraying their decisions as a personal betrayal. ‘These are not the people I interviewed to serve on the United States Supreme Court, they are merely a shell of their original selves,’ Trump wrote on social media, reacting to the court’s Monday night ruling that blocked his administration’s restrictions on mail ballots in the midterms. Although Trump blamed all three of his appointees for ruling against him, the court’s ruling did not specify a vote count …. Justice Brett M. Kavanaugh, whom Trump appointed to the court during his first term, concurred with the decision blocking the administration’s effort to allow the U.S. Postal Service to impose new nationwide rules on mail ballots. Neither of Trump’s other two appointees — Justices Neil M. Gorsuch and Amy Coney Barrett — registered dissents.” (09/15/26)
- US judge blocks Trump’s ‘absurd’ visa caps for students, journalists
Source: South China Morning Post [Hong Kong]
“A US federal judge on Monday temporarily blocked a new visa cap for international students, visiting scholars and foreign journalists, saying the Trump administration’s national security justification ‘borders on the absurd’. Judge F. Dennis Saylor in Boston said the rationale for the restriction was ‘exceptionally weak’, and the connection between the rule and the problems it purported to address was ‘exceptionally attenuated’. … Under the new rule, which was scheduled to take effect on Tuesday, foreign journalists would be limited to 240 days in the US …. The rule would limit international students’ stays to four years and restrict programme changes, transfers and second degrees at the same academic level.” (09/15/26)
- CA: Reiner won’t get death penalty if he’s convicted of killing parents
Source: New York Post
“Nick Reiner will not be given the death penalty if he is found guilty of murder — and has his slain parents to thank. Prosecutors have taken the steep punishment off the table for the alleged killing in part because of the views of Rob and Michele Reiner, both were against capital punishment, according to LA County District Attorney Nathan Hochman, who held a press conference before Reiner’s hearing Tuesday. His siblings, Jake and Romy Reiner, also would have had a difficult time coping with potentially playing a role in executing their brother, TMZ reports. Hochman also revealed he discussed the decision to take the death penalty off the table with Reiner’s siblings before making the announcement. Reiner was indicted on August 12 for the murder of his parents, with a special circumstance of lying in wait added.” (09/15/26)
- Thai, Cambodian regimes begin UN conciliation process over disputed maritime claims
Source: ABC News
“Thailand and Cambodia ’s foreign ministers exchanged opening statements in Singapore on Tuesday at the first meeting to settle a sea border dispute under a U.N. agreement on maritime law for compulsory conciliation. At issue is territory claimed by both that is believed to contain large, exploitable amounts of natural gas and other hydrocarbons. The decision to take the matter to the U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea, or UNCLOS, was triggered by Cambodia in June after Thailand terminated a 25-year-old memorandum of understanding meant to resolve overlapping maritime claims.” (09/15/26)
- Colombia: Former foreign minister charged over nanny’s lie detector test
Source: BBC News [UK state media]
“Prosecutors in Colombia have accused former foreign minister Laura Sarabia of abusing her power after she made her nanny take a lie detector test. The scandal erupted in 2023, when Colombian news weekly Semana reported that a woman Sarabia had employed to look after her son had been hooked up to a polygraph and questioned over the alleged disappearance of a case full of cash from Sarabia’s flat.
Sarabia, who was the chief of staff for President Gustavo Petro at the time, resigned in June 2023 but was later appointed as foreign minister and, following her resignation from that post, as Colombia’s ambassador to the United Kingdom. She has denied any wrongdoing. … Prosecutors said Sarabia abused her position as his chief of staff by ordering police to question her nanny, Marelbys Meza, over the alleged disappearance of the cash, which was said to amount to several thousands of dollars.” (09/15/26) - Pentagon inspector general says $22.3 billion spent on Iran war munitions has caused “strategic inventory shortfalls”
Source: CBS News
“The Defense Department’s inspector general revealed Monday that the United States is facing a shortfall in ammunition as a result of its costly war in Iran. In a first-of-its-kind mandatory report to Congress, the inspector said that between Feb. 28 and June 30, Operation Epic Fury (OEF) had an estimated cost of $33.4 billion, with $22.3 billion of that spent on munitions alone. ‘The munitions expenditure on OEF has resulted in strategic inventory shortfalls and revealed industrial base bottlenecks for munitions resupply,’ the report states.” (09/15/26)
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/us-iran-war-ammunition-munition-shortage-shortfall-spending/
- Docs: Attempted Trump assassin Thomas Crooks used ‘Bob Dole’ alias before anonymous donor paid for cremation
Source: Fox News
“Thomas Matthew Crooks, the Pennsylvania man who killed a bystander and seriously wounded two others in a failed assassination attempt on President Donald Trump, had no friends as a teenager and used the alias ‘Bob Dole’ while ordering suspicious packages before an anonymous donor paid for his body to be cremated, according to federal documents viewed by Fox News Digital. The records turned over to the Senate show Thomas’[s] actions were a surprise to his family, and his motive is still a mystery. … Crooks, 20, typically collected packages addressed to the Dole alias before his father, who worked late, came home. He was shot and killed after opening fire at a Trump rally in July 2024.” (09/15/26)
- Hungary to amend anti-LGBTQ law to align with EU standards
Source: Al Jazeera [Qatari state media]
“Hungary’s government has submitted a bill to parliament to amend anti-LGBTQ rules for minors that were introduced under former nationalist leader Viktor Orban. The law, which was created as an add-on to the country’s existing child protection regulations in 2021, banned the ‘promotion of homosexuality’ to under-18s. The same law was later used to ban Pride marches. … The bill submitted on Monday aims to remove references in the 2021 legislation banning the ‘promotion’ or ‘display’ of homosexuality and gender transition to minors. It would now refer simply to material that can ‘seriously impair the child’s physical, intellectual, emotional or moral development’.” (09/15/26)
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/9/15/hungary-to-amend-anti-lgbtq-law-to-align-with-eu-standards
- CA: Two Oakland police helicopter pilots accused of faking FAA certifications
Source: SFGate
“Two Oakland Police Department officers are facing federal charges after allegedly conspiring with a federal aviation official to fake their helicopter pilot certifications. Prosecutors said the scheme happened between July 2023 and March 2024, when the two officers, Brandon Mart and David Mac, allegedly worked with William Miller, an aviation inspector with the Federal Aviation Administration, to fraudulently receive their certificates. The officers are accused of submitting fake documents related to ‘checkrides,’ according to an indictment filed on Aug. 27. A checkride, which is required to obtain a pilot certification, includes a practical flight test with specific maneuvers and an oral exam covering topics like aviation regulations and aircraft systems. The indictment alleges Mart received three fraudulent checkride certifications and Mac received one, even though the officer failed to complete all of the requirements or some checkrides never occurred at all.” (09/14/26)
https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/oakland-police-pilot-fraud-22431888.php
- Yankee Stadium cooling tower tests positive for Legionella bacteria
Source: United Press International
“A cooling tower at Yankee Stadium is one of 10 in the South Bronx that has been ordered for disinfecting on Monday after testing positive for Legionella bacteria. The cleaning order by the New York City Health Department follows an outbreak of a new Legionnaires’ cluster in the South Bronx. A tower at Lincoln Hospital and another at Boricua College Bronx Campus have also been flagged for cleaning. … New York City health officials announced the first fatality related to the cluster on Friday. Health officials were investigating the origin of the cluster and have tested 24 cooling towers so far.” (09/14/26)
- SCOTUS blocks Trump’s mail post election-rigging scheme
Source: BBC News [UK state media]
“The US Supreme Court has rejected President Donald Trump’s plan to restrict voting by mail before November’s midterm elections, in a setback for the White House. The justices upheld a federal judge’s order that temporarily blocked the US Postal Service (USPS) from moving forwards with new requirements for postal ballots. But it is unlikely to be the final word on the matter. Justice Brett Kavanaugh, a conservative, agreed with the ruling, but indicated he might later rule in Trump’s favour as litigation in the case continues. … Kavanaugh wrote in the opinion that there was ‘at least a fair prospect that the final rule falls within the Postal Service’s statutory authority’. But he argued that ‘applying the rule in the 2026 elections would be arbitrary and capricious’. Justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas, also conservatives [sic], dissented.” (09/14/26)
- Oil Prices Rise Above $107 as Middle East Supply Risks Remain in Focus
Source: Yahoo! Finance
“Oil prices rose on Tuesday as investors monitored further Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia and continued uncertainty over the timing of talks concerning the Strait of Hormuz. Benchmark Brent crude futures increased 2.0% to $107.83 per barrel by 04:19 ET, while US West Texas Intermediate futures rose 2.1% to $103.50 per barrel. Talks between Iran and Gulf states concerning the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz remained on hold after Oman said a planned Monday meeting had been postponed. Oman did not provide a new date for the discussions. Iran-aligned Houthi forces in Yemen carried out further strikes against Saudi Arabia on Monday and continued operations around the Red Sea and Bab al-Mandab Strait.” (09/15/26)
https://finance.yahoo.com/energy/articles/oil-prices-rise-above-107-093258084.html
- McConnell finally shows up
Source: Associated Press
“Republican Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky returned to the Senate to vote on Monday for the first time in three months, looking noticeably more frail after he was hospitalized for a June fall in his home. … He briefly addressed reporters Monday from a wheelchair outside the Senate chamber, smiling but speaking slowly and with some difficulty. McConnell joked that he wasn’t sure how many reporters would be there after dodging so many questions during his almost two decades as leader.” (09/14/26)
https://apnews.com/article/mitch-mcconnell-senate-return-abe03e84e30a174da4076385692b5751
- Ukraine: UK armed forces member dies in “road traffic incident”
Source: euoronews [EU]
“A member of the UK armed forces died in Ukraine on Saturday, the British Ministry of Defence has announced. The unnamed service member died as the result of a “road traffic incident,” the ministry said in a statement posted to social media. ‘The family have been informed and have requested a period of grace before further details are released,’ it reads. ‘Our thoughts and sympathies are with the individual’s loved ones at this difficult time’. … Few details are available on the UK’s military presence in Ukraine, although Westminster has previously confirmed that British personnel are present in the country. These personnel support the security of the UK Defence Section in Ukraine and offer medical training and mentoring to Ukraine’s Medical Forces.” (09/14/26)
- EU pols fantasize that they can keep under-15s off social media
Source: Politico
“The European Commission will propose new rules to restrict minors’ access to social media and video-sharing platforms before the age of 15, according to preparatory documents seen by POLITICO and a person familiar with the matter. The EU executive on Thursday will unveil a new EU KIDS Act setting out age restrictions, along with new rules requiring covered products, such as social media and AI companions, to be safe [sic] by design. The proposal aims to create a tiered system for accessing social media under parental supervision before age 15, the documents said.” (09/14/26)
https://www.politico.eu/article/eu-to-propose-new-legislation-on-minors-protection-on-thursday/
- Trump Jr. And Wife Defend Lavish Wedding ‘Gift’ From Russian Oligarch
Source: Forbes
“Donald Trump Jr. and his wife Bettina defended their friendship with a Russian oligarch linked to Vladimir Putin after a report that Umar Kremlev paid hundreds of thousands of dollars to help fund their wedding weekend at private islands in the Bahamas earlier this year. Calling Kremlev a ‘dear friend,’ the couple said in a lengthy statement posted to Instagram along with 20 photos of the event that he ‘very generously hosted two incredible nights of celebrations for us AFTER our wedding,’ calling it an ‘extraordinarily generous wedding gift from a friend,’ noting the two were married in a private ceremony a day before leaving for the Bahamas. … Kremlev has a longstanding relationship with the Russian government—days before the wedding Kremlev was part of Putin’s delegation on a trip to China … ProPublica reported …” (09/14/26)
- Sweden: Political parties launch coalition talks as both blocs try to secure power
Source: The Guardian [UK]
“Sweden’s political parties have launched coalition negotiations as the Social Democrats leader, Magdalena Andersson, started the long and difficult process of trying to form a new government. Full results from Sunday’s election are not expected until after overseas votes are counted on Wednesday, but with 95% of the votes counted, the Social Democrats and the centre-left bloc had a narrow but growing lead of 176 seats to the right-leaning parties’ 173. After losing support for the first time since they were founded, the far-right Sweden Democrats, who were hoping to enter government for the first time, appear to be out of the picture. But many of its policy ideas – on immigration laws, integration and crime – have become mainstream, including in the centre-left.” (09/14/26)
- Solving the Conundrum of Status Competition
Source: The Dispatch
by Marian L Tupy“When prosperous societies educate more people than prestige systems can absorb, some turn against the source of that prosperity.” (09/15/26)
https://thedispatch.com/article/status-competition-elites-democratic-socialists/
- Hollywood Loves the Talarico “Equal Time” Scam
Source: Town Hall
by Derek Hunter“Ever notice how leftists routinely rally around people and things that the general public simply has no interest in, seemingly in the hope of forcing whatever that person or thing is to become popular? It might work for a short while (think Labubu, the ugly creatures that look like a cross between a monkey and bad dentistry that blew up for a minute last year) but reality has a funny way of insisting on itself and trends fade. The same thing happens in politics, as Hollywood leftists love elevating people who could easily sell out a Beverly Hills fundraiser for millions of dollars, but could easily walk unrecognized through a mall anywhere else in the world.” (09/15/26)
- Understanding Entrepreneurship Has Major Implications for Economic Analysis
Source: Ludwig von Mises Institute
by Per Bylund“What are the implications for economics of recognizing entrepreneurship? They are vast. Modern/mainstream economics is, to a great extent, the outcome of expunging the entrepreneur and forcing an entrepreneurless, mechanistic view onto the economy. This facilitates the use of mathematical analysis and quantitative predictions, but these will always be wrong to the extent that there is entrepreneurship. In a sense, mainstream economics is the science of a planned or plannable economy. And the basic models even assume that there is perfect information.” (09/15/26)
https://mises.org/mises-wire/understanding-entrepreneurship-has-major-implications-economic-analysis
- Macklemore’s Tour Cancellation Shows Why Celebrities Don’t Criticize Israel
Source: Caitlin Johnstone, Rogue Journalist
by Caitlin Johnstone“Macklemore has been removed from the duration of a tour with Ed Sheeran for saying ‘Free Palestine’ and criticizing Israel’s genocidal atrocities in Gaza. In an eloquent statement posted on social media, Macklemore said he was told by Sheeran that New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft had barred him from the Gillette Stadium and coordinated with other stadium owners on Sheeran’s tour to follow suit. Robert Kraft has a net worth of some $15 billion. He was once publicly handed a trophy by Benjamin Netanyahu honoring his commitment to the Zionist project …. Macklemore said Sheeran defended his decision to comply with Kraft’s demand by telling him that ‘the words ‘Free Palestine’ and the image of the Palestinian flag were hurtful to a lot of people.’ Which really says a lot about the detached celebrity cloud that Sheeran has been living on.” (09/15/26)
- Japan’s Reflationist Bet Is Running Out of Road
Source: Foundation for Economic Education
by Jake Scott“On Monday, September 7, in Tokyo, an economist who has spent a year arguing that the Bank of Japan (BoJ) should wait to hike interest rates published a note saying it no longer can. Takuji Aida, who advises Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, sits on her flagship growth-strategy panel, and 10 months ago he warned that a December rate rise would be quite risky. He now expects a rate rise from 1% on September 18, followed by three more rate hikes after that. Aida’s forecast is, in itself, unremarkable: markets seem prepared for such a shift, having nearly fully priced a quarter-point move to 1.25%, the highest rate the BoJ has risen to since 1995. What is remarkable is the source of the rise.” (09/15/26)
https://fee.org/articles/japans-reflationist-bet-is-running-out-of-road/
- The Importance of Being Indebted
Source: Law & Liberty
by Theodore Dalrymple“The problem with excessive borrowing is easy to see but difficult to solve, and not in one country alone. The former prime minister of Luxembourg, Jean-Claude Juncker, put it best when he said, ‘We all know what to do, but we don’t know how to get re-elected once we have done it.’ (Not that Luxembourg has the indebtedness problem, for tax havens will always attract money as jam attracts wasps). If one takes Juncker’s remark seriously, which I think that one should, it points to a problem with the current form of democracy itself, and perhaps even of human character. Bribery of the population has become a powerful political argument or tool.” (09/15/26)
- Could You Get It If You Were Rich?
Source: Bet On It
by Bryan Caplan“One common complaint about markets is that profit-maximization leads to low-quality products. The populist version is just, ‘They cut corners to save money.’ But the populist version doesn’t explain why firms don’t offer a full menu of price-quality combinations. Firms could just offer ‘copper,’ ‘silver,’ ‘gold,’ and ‘platinum’ quality levels, with suitable upcharges for each quality tier. Textbook asymmetric information models have a response. Namely: While sellers know what quality level they’re producing, customers can’t easily tell. So while they might be happy to pay $500 extra for a product that costs $400 extra to produce, unregulated businesses will try to take advantage of their cluelessness.” (09/15/26)
- The Cocooning Racket Needs to End
Source: Brownstone Institute
by Jeffrey A Tucker“Cocooning is different from nest building, which is a normal sense of wanting time to bond and learn and care. This is different. It is a pharmacological innovation that implies that the basic immune system is deeply flawed without the injection of industrial products and therefore a newborn can only be around other maximally injected people. The Covid and flu shots are known to register negative efficacy. None of these shots can prevent transmission, an indisputable fact. Moreover, every pharmaceutical carries risks. Four at once carries more risk than one. In effect, the new mother is exercising soft power, blackmailing her family by denying joy to them unless they give money to the shotmakers.” (09/15/26)
https://brownstone.org/articles/the-cocooning-racket-needs-to-end/
- How Elon Musk can unlock a Russia-Ukraine energy truce, and help save lives
Source: New York Post
by John Hardie & Mark Montgomery“Russia and Ukraine have ‘agreed’ not to strike each other’s energy infrastructure, President Donald Trump asserted Monday — perhaps aiming to accelerate a deal that reportedly remains under negotiation and which Moscow has previously resisted. While Kyiv quickly expressed readiness for an energy truce, the Kremlin has remained conspicuously silent. It’s not hard to guess why. Vladimir Putin knows that Ukraine, short on air defenses, is staring down the barrel of its hardest winter yet — and he wants to exploit that vulnerability. But there’s a way to blunt the Russian bombardment, and improve diplomacy’s chances in the process. Ukraine, unable to intercept enough Russian ‘arrows’, should be permitted to use the Starlink satellite internet service to take out the ‘archers’ inside Russia. Despite Trump’s efforts to revive peace talks by dispatching envoys to Moscow and Kyiv earlier this month, Putin appears determined to continue fighting.” (09/15/26)
- Trump Says Stay in Iran and Keep the Oil
Source: Karl Dickey’s Freedom Vanguard
by Karl Dickey“Have we learned nothing from history of blowback? Shouldn’t we be cultivating friends and trade partners rather than bullying ourselves around the globe in search of lower prices to run our cars? For decades, politicos obfuscate the fact that we involve our country in Middle Eastern foreign entanglements over oil, while they claim everything under the sun but the fact, other than what Trump has now plainly stated. We’ll use our military might to plunder anywhere and do anything for cheap oil. But the reality of doing this is much more complicated, regardless of whether you believe the rhetoric coming out of D.C.” (09/15/26)
https://palmbeachexaminer.substack.com/p/trump-says-stay-in-iran-and-keep
- The US-Canada Trade War Nobody Asked For
Source: RealClearPolitics
by David Clement“‘Team Canada’ and ‘America First’ might be catchy slogans, but they survive on vagueness. The public’s willingness to go along for this ride quickly fades when those slogans are replaced by real costs and real job losses. The current back-and-forth ends up being nothing more than an exercise in national pride that ignores the fact that someone always loses when they face artificially higher prices at the checkout.” (09/15/26)
- How the US tried (and failed) to learn from ‘The Battle of Algiers’
Source: Responsible Statecraft
by Martin di Caro“Sixty years after the film premiered, and 23 years after its screening at the Pentagon, its lessons are as relevant as ever.” (09/15/26)
https://responsiblestatecraft.org/battle-of-algiers-pentagon-screening/
- Meet the Republican Socialists-lite of America
Source: Washington Post
by Marc Short“When one party controls the White House and both chambers of Congress, the midterm elections are a referendum on the party in power. With President Donald Trump’s approval ratings falling into the 30s and affordability remaining a top issue for voters, it is rational for Republicans to direct attention to how much worse the economic pain will be under Democrats. Fortunately for congressional Republicans, the Democratic base is obliging them by nominating candidates aligned with the Democratic Socialists of America, whose platform includes defunding the police and abolishing the U.S. Senate. Unfortunately, the socialist attack would be more potent if the GOP offered a clear contrast. Instead, the last two years of Republican rule have ushered more government intrusion into the marketplace than a socialist congressional caucus could ever deliver.” (09/15/26)
- Trump’s tariffs on Canada could cost him several red states
Source: The Hill
by Merrill Matthews“If you were a conspiracy theorist, you might think President Trump is trying his best to get Republican candidates defeated in the November midterm elections. That’s because the tariffs he recently imposed on Canadian imports, and Canada’s response by imposing tariffs on U.S. imports, hit several red states very hard, which is fueling voters’ anger.” (09/15/26)
https://thehill.com/opinion/international/6089429-canada-us-trade-war-red-states/
- Here’s Why Ro Khanna & AOC Should Run for President in 2028
Source: Common Dreams
by Jeff Cohen & Norman Solomon“Fifteen years ago, during President Obama’s first term, we co-founded RootsAction as an online progressive group challenging not only Republicans but also the corporatism and militarism of the Democratic Party. RootsAction supported Bernie Sanders for president in 2016 and 2020. Two years before the 2024 election disaster that returned Donald Trump to the White House, RootsAction launched the Don’t Run Joe campaign, with the warning that the renomination of Joe Biden by Democrats ‘would be a tragic mistake’. Despite polls showing as early as 2022 that strong majorities of Democrats wanted a 2024 nominee other than Biden, the ‘Don’t Run Joe’ message went unheeded until Biden’s debate debacle in June 2024. By then, it was too late for the open primary process needed to produce a ticket that could inspire activists—and defeat the fascistic faux-populism of Trump.” (09/15/26)
https://www.commondreams.org/opinion/aoc-ro-khanna-2028-presidential-election
- Why Do Central Bank Economists Listen to Some Countries More Than Others?
Source: Cobden Centre
by Karl-Friedrich Israel“When central banks make decisions about inflation, interest rates, or financial stability, they rely heavily on economic research. But where does that research come from? And whose ideas end up shaping the global conversation? A new IREF Working Paper by Tom Bugdalle and Moritz Pfeifer takes a fascinating look at these questions by analyzing more than 330,000 economics articles and millions of citations between them. The results reveal a striking hierarchy in the world of economic research.” (09/15/26)
- The ‘Better and Worse’ of Stephanie Coontz’s Marriage History
Source: The Daily Economy
by Jeffery L Degner“Stephanie Coontz’s new book succeeds as a thoughtful history of modern marriage but misdiagnoses the economic forces reshaping it.” (09/15/26)
https://thedailyeconomy.org/article/the-better-and-worse-of-stephanie-coontzs-marriage-history/
- Even If ‘Operation Economic Outcast’ Works, It Won’t End the War
Source: The American Conservative
by Jude Russo“I’m in a generous mood. Let’s say the newest scheme works: The latest iteration of attempted economic strangulation causes state collapse in Iran. I remain skeptical, but in my expansive goodwill, I’ll go ahead and grant the premise for the sake of argument. I’ll even grant that it happens on a manageable political timescale, oh, six months or so. What then?” (09/15/26)
- Barney Frank’s Last Harsh Warning to the Left
Source: Washington Monthly
by Anne Kim“Written in the blunt and acerbic style that defined his political persona, The Hard Path to Unity is an unsparing and timely indictment of the ascendant left that all liberals would do well to read—and heed. Left unchallenged, Frank warns, left-wing dominance of the Democratic Party will doom it to political failure, thereby leaving Trumpist populism unchecked. Through its insistence on unrealistic ideals (and its ironic intolerance of differing viewpoints), Frank argues that progressives risk losing everything they purport to champion.” (09/15/26)
https://washingtonmonthly.com/2026/09/15/barney-franks-last-harsh-warning-to-the-left/
- Data Center Dividend: Lower Power Bills and a Fatter Tax Base
Source: Bluegrass Institute
by Joseph Verruni“The data center battle is about more than money, but one thing is clear: There are potentially massive financial benefits to individuals both as ratepayers and homeowners.” (09/14/26)
- The Fantasy House of Mark Carney
Source: American Greatness
by Victor Davis Hanson“Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney now believes he is more than just the Western foil to Donald Trump and his MAGA movement—he is the global one. Accordingly, he seems determined to demonstrate to the world how to stand up to Donald Trump, to force Trump to lose the midterms, and to hurt the U.S. economy to such a degree that Trump will never again bully other nations. So, at the eleventh hour, Carney stormed out of an apparently completed tariff deal with the United States that would have privileged Canada over almost all of America’s other trading partners. … Carney claimed that American proposals stripped away Canadian sovereignty and quashed Canadian culture, particularly French-Canadian culture. Yet he has not released the documents detailing the bilateral offers he rejected.” (09/15/26)
https://amgreatness.com/2026/09/15/the-fantasy-house-of-mark-carney/
- When Tobacco Is Illicit
Source: Liberalism.org
by Jacob Grier“Restrictions and prohibitions are now affecting the demand for nicotine in the same ways that are found in markets for illicit drugs.” (09/14/26)
- America’s Moral Rot in the Age of Trumpism and How to Reverse It
Source: Liberal Currents
by AD Blair“Police apologists are often quick to minimize revelations of corruption and misconduct by law enforcement as ‘just a few bad apples.’ But the whole point of that adage is that a single bad apple can ruin all the other apples in the barrel. For the last 11 years and counting America has seen one of its two major political parties, its federal government, and much of the rest of society infested by a very large and very rotten spray-tanned apple. And the rot has spread far and wide.” (09/15/26)
https://www.liberalcurrents.com/americas-moral-rot-in-the-age-of-trumpism-and-how-to-reverse-it/
- The Ukraine War
Source: David Friedman’s Substack
by David Friedman“My main source of information on the war is the Institute for the Study of War website, which provides detailed daily reports based on satellite evidence of who is doing what where, official statements from both sides, and posts by Russian milbloggers. ISW is openly on the Ukrainian side, reports statements by sources in the Ukrainian military straight, statements from the Russian side more skeptically. … There are three different ways of interpreting the situation with different implications for the future of the war.” (09/14/26)
- Flawed Research and Real Economic Damage
Source: Independent Institute
by Kristian Fors“Examining California’s Proposed Billionaire Wealth Tax.” (09/14/26)
https://www.independent.org/article/2026/09/14/flawed-research-and-real-economic-damage/
- Minus the Five Grand
Source: Common Sense
by Paul Jacob‘In an election year when Democrats are featuring wannabe communists, why are Republicans demonstrating a similar lack of sanity?” (09/14/26)
https://thisiscommonsense.org/2026/09/14/minus-the-five-grand/
- Congressional Democrats in Hysterics About Saving the World From AI
Source: The American Prospect
by Whitney Curry Wimbish & David Dayen“The statement from former Anthropic researcher Jacob Coxon that AI ‘could kill us by the end of the decade’ has triggered the most hostile setting for sound public policy: mass panic. Events since Coxon’s viral comments have only deepened the frenzy. A senior employee at Anthropic, Evan Hubinger, backed Coxon up (‘We really do earnestly believe AI could kill all humans!’) and estimated the chances that AI could cause human extinction at more than 10 percent. Late last week, Anthropic said it had halted ‘several efforts by scientists’ whose research could have developed biological weapons, The New York Times reported; on Friday, The Wall Street Journal reported that OpenAI’s artificial intelligence agents attacked the software service RubyGems two months before they attacked Hugging Face.” (09/15/26)
https://prospect.org/2026/09/15/artificial-intelligence-open-ai-anthropic-congressional-democrats/
- The ‘Stop Nick Shirley Act’: Yet Another Anti-Doxxing Law That Chills Free Speech
Source: Reason
by Josh Pauzé“Conservative [sic] YouTuber Nick Shirley has taken his anti-fraud crusade to California, but a recently passed law, coined by conservatives as the ‘Stop Nick Shirley Act,’ is threatening to derail him, or so he says. Now Shirley is challenging it in federal court. Shirley outlined his argument in a recent YouTube video, claiming that the legislation is a blatant violation of the First Amendment created in response to him exposing fraud across California. In his suit, he also alleges that it discriminates based on the content and viewpoint of speech and is unconstitutionally ‘overbroad and vague.'” (09/14/26)
- King Ludd
Source: Astral Codex Ten
by Scott Alexander“Blake, Lovecraft, and Tolkien – not to mention the original Celtic myths – all share a common theme: a deep ambivalence about technology which finally settles into determined opposition. … I was thinking about all this when trying to figure out why a mob of thousands of people terrorized north Britain in the 1810s while shouting ‘King Ludd! King Ludd!’ And why it took an army bigger than the one Wellington was leading against Napoleon to put them down. And why people regularly accuse me of being associated with them.” (09/14/26)
- No Emergency Exception in the Constitution
Source: Future of Freedom Foundation
by Jacob G Hornberger“The Constitution called into existence a federal government whose powers were limited to those few powers that are enumerated in the Constitution itself (as well as the powers incidental to carrying its enumerated powers into execution). If a power is not enumerated, it cannot legally be exercised by the president, the Congress, the judiciary, or the national-security establishment. Notice something important: There is no constitutional provision that states ‘In an emergency, U.S. officials shall be vested with whatever powers they deem necessary to address the emergency.'” (09/14/26)
https://www.fff.org/2026/09/14/no-emergency-exception-in-the-constitution/
- The Food Revolution Nobody Planned
Source: The Daily Economy
by Byron Carson“From food trucks to farmers’ markets and beyond, entrepreneurs — not policymakers — are finding new ways to feed people, create value, and deliver much more than just cheaper food.” (09/14/26)
https://thedailyeconomy.org/article/the-food-revolution-nobody-planned/
- Jesus of Nazareth Wasn’t a Socialist. He Wasn’t a Capitalist Either.
Source: Exiled Policy
by Jason Pye“One of my least favorite habits in American politics is watching people reach for the Bible to give moral authority to whatever economic views they already hold. Conservatives have spent decades talking about capitalism, private property, and limited government as though they fit naturally within a Christian worldview. Christian progressives do something similar from the other direction, pointing to the concerns Jesus of Nazareth had for the poor and his commands to love one’s neighbor as evidence for a much more redistributive economic order. I’ve never been particularly persuaded by either argument.” (09/14/26)
https://exiledpolicy.substack.com/p/jesus-of-nazareth-wasnt-a-socialist
- Punishing Israel-boycotters is even worse than boycotting Israel
Source: The Hill
by Austin Sarat“Today, polls show that Americans are more sympathetic to the Palestinian cause than to Israel, a dramatic reversal in a short period of time. Demonstrating hostility to the Jewish state has also become a badge of honor among political progressives. … Boycotting Israel, whether on college campuses or elsewhere, is a bad idea in my view. It is not the way to change Israeli policy. … But as bad as the boycott movement is, U.S. House passage of the The Protect Economic and Academic Freedom Act, by a 237-169 vote, was worse.” (09/14/26)
https://thehill.com/opinion/congress-blog/6085347-bill-targets-campus-bds-boycotts/
- Why People Prefer Socialism to Capitalism
Source: Town Hall
by Mark Lewis“Everybody says they want freedom, but most people really don’t, mainly because they don’t know what true freedom is. And if they did, they would—and do — reject it. ‘Only a virtuous people are capable of freedom,’ Benjamin Franklin wrote, and most people don’t want to be virtuous. Which is why they prefer socialism. Homo sapiens, as a species, is a group of jungle savages who know very little about history, and especially do not understand historical perspective. In fact, when it comes to history, most humans are incredibly ignorant. Two hundred and fifty years — the life of the American Republic — when compared to the entire span of human history, is not a very long time. And we Americans look at our history very narrowly, and rarely see the whole panorama that history really is.” (09/14/26)
- Thank capitalism and free markets for human flourishing
Source: Washington Post
by US Senator John Curtis (R-UT)“There is a clear link between economic freedom and standards of living, financial resources and personal health. The Taiwan I first visited as a missionary in 1979 is nothing like the country I returned to this year. I saw firsthand how market-oriented capitalism transformed a poor, agrarian country into an economic powerhouse. That is not an isolated example. None of the most prosperous countries in the world are socialist.” (09/14/26)
- The Bryan Hyde Show, 09/15/26
Source: The Bryan Hyde Show
“With all the bad news swirling around us, it’s easy to forget what an amazing world we live in. Paul Rosenberg’s gentle reminder not to discount the future, is a message many of us sorely need to hear.” (09/15/26)
- Rising, 09/15/26
Source: The Hill
“Robby Soave gives his radar on President Trump taking a stand against excessive regulation of AI, as more lawmakers have called for restrictions and moratoriums.” (09/15/26)
https://thehill.com/hilltv/6083814-rising-september-15-2026/
- Ron Paul Liberty Report, 09/15/26
Source: Ron Paul Liberty Report
“Zelensky Hits Russian Diesel Despite Trump’s Warning.” (09/15/26)
- The Good Fight, 09/15/26
Source: Yascha Mounk
“Jacob Weisberg on the Contagion of Cowardice.” (09/15/26)
- The Daily Blast With Greg Sargent, 09/15/26
Source: The New Republic
“Trump’s Angry Tirades on AI Accidentally Wreck GOP’s Midterm Strategy.” (09/15/26)
- Show-Me Institute Podcast, 09/15/26
Source: Show-Me Institute
“What Parents Think About Public Education with Colyn Ritter.” (09/15/26)
- The Daily, 09/15/26
Source: New York Times
“The Bond Market Is Flipping Out. Here’s Why You Should Care.” (09/15/26)
- Advisory Opinions, 09/15/26
Source: The Dispatch
“Barely Averting a Constitutional Crisis.” (09/15/26)
https://thedispatch.com/podcast/advisoryopinions/barely-averting-a-constitutional-crisis/
- Eric Margolis on The Scott Horton Show
Source: The Scott Horton Show
“Eric Margolis returns to the show to discuss the latest developments in the Middle East.” (09/15/26)
https://scotthorton.org/interviews/9-10-26-the-return-of-eric-margolis/
- The Mark Edge Show, 09/14/26
Source: Free Talk Live
‘Mark Edge welcomes Aaron Day, independent Senate candidate in New Hampshire, for a conversation that could not be more urgent. September 15th is the next critical date for the Clarity Act, what Aaron calls the largest surveillance bill in US history, and most people have never heard of it.” (09/14/26)
- Pod Save America, episode 1213
Source: Crooked Media
“Artificial Intelligence, Actual Idiots.” (09/15/26)
https://audioboom.com/posts/8952783-artificial-intelligence-actual-idiots
- Antiwar News with Dave DeCamp, 09/14/26
Source: Antiwar.com
“Iran Says No Talks With US Until ‘Conditions Met,’ Ansar Allah Takes More Red Sea Islands, and More.” (09/14/26)
- Politico Playbook Audio Briefing, 09/15/26
Source: Politico
“AI regulation’s strange bedfellows.” (09/15/26)
- SolutionsWatch, 09/14/26
Source: The Corbett Report
“Applied POSIWID.” (09/14/26)
- Reason Roundtable, 09/14/26
Source: Reason
“Is AI Really an Existential Threat?” (09/14/26)
https://reason.com/podcast/2026/09/14/is-ai-really-an-existential-threat/
- Finding Freedom, 09/14/26
Source: Lions of Liberty
“Liberty and Security: Ross Ulbricht on What Prison Taught Him About Freedom.” (09/14/26)
- The Daily Blast With Greg Sargent, 09/14/26
Source: The New Republic
“Trump’s Rage Erupts as Brutal ‘Convention’ Ratings Humiliate Him Badly.” (09/14/26)
https://newrepublic.com/article/215360/trump-rage-erupts-brutal-convention-ratings-humiliate-badly
- Ron Paul Liberty Report, 09/14/26
Source: Ron Paul Liberty Report
“Voters Have Nowhere To Go This Fall.” (09/14/26)
- Parallax Views w/ JG Michael, 09/14/26
Source: Parallax Views w/ JG Michael
“Is This the End of American Empire? Iran, Israel, & the New Middle East w/ Wahid Azal.” (09/14/26)
- EconTalk, 09/14/26
Source: EconTalk
“Incentives Are for Losers (with Adam Mastroianni).” (09/14/26)
https://www.econtalk.org/incentives-are-for-losers-with-adam-mastroianni/